Christmas Time Is Here
by Carlos'sCupcake
Summary: Delia has always loved the magic and miracles that comes with Christmas. Could she maybe find something else, like love, during the holidays in a new place? KendallXOC
1. Chapter 1

**A/N Yuppers, another Christmas story. I don't know how long this one will be, I haven't planned it all out but I was super excited to get it started! For those of you wondering, I am still writing Home For The Holidays, I'm still working a few things to continue though, so please be patient!**

Still shaking from the previous events of the past hour, I spot the Starbuck's on the corner and almost give a sigh of relief. It's been a fucking sucky ass evening so far and I could really use a cup of coffee to help calm my nerves. I go inside and order my coffee from the barista, and hand over the five dollar bill, cramming the dollar and fifty cents change left into my pocket before running to the restroom to wipe my face with a wet paper towel. Just as I'm exiting the restroom, my number is called. I thank the lady and take my cappuccino, leaving the shop to search for a bus stop. Spying a schedule pinned to the shelter, I head off in that direction to check the times, when some guy who is walking backwards, not paying attention while talking to one of his friends bumps into me, sending my styrofoam cup to the ground, spilling the brown liquid all over the dirty sidewalk. "Damn it", I curse under my breath.

"Oh my gosh, I am so sorry", the blonde exclaims. "Tell me what you had and I'll go get you another."

"Forget about it", I utter and bend down to pick up the cup and lid, tossing them into the trashcan, and I ignore the dude, intent on continuing my trek to the bus stop. I swear sometimes if it wasn't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all. I read the paper taped on the wall, then bite back a scream, and instead slam my fist into the glass. Anger wells up and I slump down onto the beach a few feet away, putting my head in my hands out of despair, no longer able to hold my tears back. The next bus won't be coming for another two hours and I live at least fifteen miles away, and the temperature is steadily dropping. Could things really get any worse?

A few hot teardrops streak down my cheeks and I let them fall freely, getting lost in my thoughts and not caring until I feel someone sit down beside me. "Here", a male voice says and I look up to see the guy who bumped into me holding out a cup from the same shop I had just come from.

"You didn't have to", I dab at the wet spots on my cheeks with my fingers, then pull the lid back.

"But I did. It was my fault because I wasn't paying attention."

"It happens", I take a sip of the scalding liquid to warm up my insides, pleasantly surprised that I taste the same exact beverage I previously ordered. "Thank you", I say softly.

"No problem", he smiles and the cutest dimples appear in his cheeks. I just sit there for a few minutes, not saying anything else.

The stranger remains next to me though, and breaks the silence. "Is there anything I can do for you? I don't mean to be nosy but you seem like something is wrong."

Well, accepting a ride from him seems practical and rational right now than waiting out in the cold for another two hours, and it'll probably take me that same amount of time to walk all the way home. "Look I don't want to bore you with the details but I could really use a ride home. I live a couple towns over, and I totally understand if it's out of your way or if you have something else to do." I keep my eyes fixed on my hands in my lap, too embarrassed to look up. I feel like I'm begging but if he's offering and it's my only option, I'm not opposed to asking for help.

"That's not a problem. And don't worry about it. But aren't you afraid that I'm like some creeper or something. Didn't your mom ever tell you not to get in the car with strangers?"

I look the man over, studying his face all the way down to his feet, and not one red flag is raised, and there nothing alerts me that he's dangerous. If anything, I feel at peace, sitting next to this man that I don't know, feeling as comfortable as if I've known him my whole life. I omit telling him that if I did just happen to get in the car with the wrong person and something horrible happened, my mom would probably be jumping for joy. Sad right?

Here's the breakdown, when I was eight, my dad was on the way to pick me up from ballet practice one night when he got into an accident. It was raining really badly and the car ran off the road and slid down a cliff, and he died before any emergency personnel could get to him. My mom blamed me since daddy was driving to get me. She never once missed the chance to throw it up in my face, and she began to despise me after that. My mother turned harsh, only doing for me what she absolutely had to do. Trust me, there was not one extra thing she did for me that wasn't required. I can't even begin to count how many times she told me all she was obligated to do was to provide a roof over my head and food on the table. Most of the time I was pawned off to my Grammy and Grampy, the parents of my father while my mom went off on her drinking binges or doing whatever, and when she just didn't want to be bothered by me. She treated me bad, never praising me for anything, making me live practically like Cinderella, not letting me go anywhere or have friends over. I was the maid; I cooked, did all the laundry, and cleaned the house every night after doing my homework.

So yeah I didn't have the best childhood, and that's the story. It's sad but true, and as the old adage goes, the truth hurts. I shrug a shoulder and tell the man sitting next to me matter of factly, "You don't scare me. I feel like I can trust you."

He gives a tiny smile and stands up, waving his hand for me to follow. "It's Deceimber right?", he asks.

"Umm yeah", I answer meekly.

"Tis the season for giving and helping. Come on." I let him lead me to a black car parked across the street and he unlocks the doors with a remote in his hand, then opens the door for me to get in. Before slipping inside the driver's seast, he pulls his wallet out of his back pocket then hands it to me as he gets in. "For your safety", he informs me. "Put it in your coat pocket, then if you go missing then the police will know who you were with. I've got nothing to hide." I can't say that this is unusual, but it does make sense and in a way it's kind of quirky, yet I can't help help when my lips turn up slightly to the side.

I watch in awe as white flakes float down from the sky sporadically. I grew up in Alabama where it doesn't get very chilly and I've only seen snow one time before. So when my job wanted me to transfer here to New York, I jumped at the chance, moving just after Halloween. It was like a new start for me and I was excited at the new change, especially last week when the first day of December rolled around. I was pretty much raised by my Grammy and Grampy, and every year it seemed like the world turned into a magical place when December came. We would decorate the house, get a Christmas tree, and bake all kinds of sugary goodies like cookies and fudge. My grandparents lived on a fixed income and never had much money, but one thing they never lacked was love. Grampy is retired from the steel factory and Grammy is on disability because of a bad back, but I never wanted for anything around them. When I graduated high school, of course my deadbeat mom wasn't around but shockingly she did send me a five hundred dollar check because she heard that I wanted to enroll in the local community college. Not having funds meant that I wouldn't be able to attend a high class college out of state, but I always managed to do well in school and earned a couple of scholarships. Combined with the money my mother gave me, I attended classes to become a legal secretary. Once I got my degree, I found a good job and stuck with it. That brings us to now.

The stranger and I chat mindlessly about nothing in particular until he pulls up into the parking lot of my apartment. "Thanks", I say and lean over to open the door.

"Oh no, wait", he raises his voice slightly. "Let me walk you up to make sure you get in okay."

"That's not necessary", I tell him and come around to his side of the car. "Look, I really appreciate what you just did for me, but unfortunately I'm not able to offer you anything right now. My car is stuck at the parking lot at work with a dead battery or some problem that it won't even start, then I took my chance on taking a subway for the first time in my life and got mixed up. Somehow I ended up on the wrong one, fifteen miles away from home and some asshole stole my purse, leaving me with only five dollars in my pocket. I've had a horrible day but if you give me your name or number or something, I can re-pay you. I'll reimburse you with some gas money when I get a new bank card." Wow, I stop to take a breath, not even realizing that I blurted all this out to the man with enchanting green eyes. I feel the heat rise to my cheeks and I pinch the bridge of my nose.

"Don't worry about it. Just get yourself inside and safe and warm, and let me feel good about helping you out", he replies.

"No, I insist", I begin to argue but am cut off.

"Christmas is a time for miracles, just remember that". With that, the stranger drives away, leaving me baffled. I turn around and head inside the building, not wanting to stand gawking out in the dark.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N I have to be honest here, I really like how I started the story but it's not fully planned out and I don't even know if I like this chapter or not, but I'm gonna post this and give it a chance. I have several ideas, and will continue on with it as long as you guys are interested in reading it. A big thank you to all of you who reviewed, favorited, added me, or even you silent readers. Don't be afraid to leave a review to let me know how I'm doing, because they are definitely great motivation! SHOUT OUTS ****SuperSillyStories****- Your review totally cracked me up, but I must confess that I have no idea about the horrors of NY transit lol...I've been to NY I think four times in my entire life and have never rode a subway or a train or anything of the like, pathetic right? :) ****KtotheH****- I'm with ya on that, Kendall can give me a miracle any day as well! I'm glad you like this so far :) ****Logan'sHoneyPie****- haha yeah we've all had those days where it's a miracle we didn't murder anyone lol :) ****FangedCutie****- Well thank you and yes, Delia had a horrible day, and thank you...I have to argue, I am not amazing, I am simply me ;) ****rwjj28****- Hehe well thanks, I'm definitely aiming for it to be good! ****DeniseDEMD****- hopefully we haven't heard that last from him! Lol and thank you so much, I LOVE Christmas and have a lot of fun writing these stories. :)**

"So you've been stuck with some man's wallet?!", my friend Lisa exclaims, almost spitting out chunks of her hot dog as she speaks. Lisa is one of the first people I met here, and she has become like a best friend to me. She works at the tanning salon next door to the law firm I'm employed at and we met when I was looking for the address of my new job when I moved here. Lisa may not be the smartest person around, but she has a heart of gold and is probably one of the nicest people I've ever know.

Lisa and I are walking around Manhattan, around Rockefeller Center because as my first time in New York, and it being Christmas time, she has taken it upon herself to show me some wonderful sights. We got hot dogs and hot chocolate from a vendor on the side of the street and she's been pointing out things to me; and even though it's only thirty degrees out here, I don't mind. I've never seen such an enormous Christmas tree that sits in the middle of the city, so beautifully decorated and lit up. Fascinated probably doesn't even come close to the way I'm feeling walking around here after dark, and I can't help to be smitten, knowing I'm here and not just seeing it on t.v. Seeing it on a screen doesn't do it any justice.

I giggle a bit. "No, silly. But I had honestly forgotten about it until I was almost in the elevator and he came running back, making it in the car just before the doors closed. I gave it back to him with another offer of thanks. Then when the doors opened, I got out but he didn't, and with a wave he was gone."

"Wow, that's definitely something", Lisa tosses her garbage into a nearby trash can. "You don't come by those kinda people everyday."

"I know right, but", I pause. "Something else sort of weird happened and I'm not complaining at all, because it was so sweet, and I'm pretty sure it was him." Lisa raises her eyebrows up at me expectantly waiting for me to continue. "When I was leaving for work the next morning, I double checked to make sure the apartment door was locked after I closed it like I always do, and there was a note on the door. It read _Hoping you have a better day today_." I grab Lisa's arm. "Get this...there was a pink rose taped to the note!"

"Oh my God, are you serious?" Let me just say that I am in love with Lisa's New York accent and I could listen to her talk for hours, especially when she's passionate about whatever she's saying.

"Yes!", I squeal. I've had a couple boyfriends here and there back in Alabama but nothing special really came out of anything, and sadly the note with the flower on my door was the most romantic thing that's ever happened to me.

"Girl, you have to call him!"

Trust me; tall, blonde, and eyebrows has been on my mind many times since then, but I kinda have a little problem. "I didn't get his number", I tell Lisa shyly, waiting for her to explode. She's a little firecracker and I'm a shy wallflower; we're complete opposites but in the same aspect we're also two peas in a pod.

"Psssh, that don't matter. What's his name? We'll look him up in the phone book."

I bite my lip and utter, "Well, I don't even know his name."

"Delia!", my friend stops on the crowded sidewalk and puts her hands on her hips. "A super cute guy helps you out and you don't even ask him what his name is?"

I pull a shoulder up to my chin. "I wasn't thinking." I grab her arm and make her start walking again. "My mind was all scrambled, it was rough." I know it's a sucky answer, but it's true.

"Well at least you weren't raped or kidnapped that night. As for mystery man, ehhh who knows, if it's meant to happen you'll run into him again."

"Yeah, I know."

"So hey, have you heard about who's gonna replace Mr. Schmidt while he's out?", Lisa asks me and the wide eyed look on her face lets me know she has some juicy news for me. I know it's pretty odd that a tanning salon was built next to a law firm, but hey not everybody likes to be pasty white during the winter right? If you ask me, it's fate. If that never happened, I might never have met Lisa. Since we work so closely together, rumors and talk from both businesses spread like wildfire back and forth, and Lisa is known to be the gossip queen. She's always in the know.

Mr. Schmidt is one of the lawyers at our firm, and he's going to be out on heart surgery, he's getting a triple by-pass, and of course someone will have to come fill in while he's out.

"All I've heard is that it'll be his stepson."

Lisa gasps. "That's what I've heard, too. Word is that he's a spoiled rich kid brat who gets everything he wants. He grew up with money and no respect, and just does what he wants." My friend shakes her head with a dreamy expression on her face. "A real bad boy. Say, I wonder if he's hot."

"Lisa!", I reprimand her. Her mouth will run a mile a minute about anything she hears, while I tend to keep what I hear to myself and stay out of the gossip circle. But even I have to admit that I'm quite curious about the guy.

"Hey, bad boys are fun and I'm down for fun. You're only young once!"

This makes me laugh. See, this is just one of the many things I love about this girl. "Well don't worry, if he is I'll definitely let you know. We have an unexpected meeting on Monday morning, something tells me that this'll be when he's introduced."

"Girl, you better call me the second you get out of that meeting!"

The sound of a bell ringing fills my ears, just a few feet away a man dressed in a Santa Claus suit is ringing a bell, taking donations for the salvation army. I open my purse and pull a ten from my wallet, then drop it into the slot in the red bucket. "Thank you and have a Merry Christmas", the man says and for some strange reason shivers run up and down my back. I look back and he winks at me.

Before I can think about it, Lisa's babbling again. "And I know Cathy Perrington recently had a boob job done, but she ain't got nothing on me. I can just picture her sashaying around in tight little tops that show off a mass of cleavage and short skirts around the new guy." I have to agree with my friend on that one. Cathy Perrington has quite the reputation herself, she is very pretty but her personality ruins everything. No one's been able to prove anything, but there are rumors that she slept her way to her position. I personally wouldn't doubt it myself but damn if the girl isn't annoying, and she and Lisa are like sworn enemies since Cathy slept with one of the guys Lisa had been dating. Yeah I don't have respect for people like that, but we do work in the same environment so I have to be civil...gag.

"You don't have a thing to worry about", I reassure my friend.

"Yeah I know. I know where she lives and trust me, I wouldn't be above sneaking into her house and replacing her shampoo with Nair or shaving her eyebrows off while she's sleeping."

I could pretend to be shocked by my friend's confession, but I'm simply not. Bad things is, I can really see her dressing in all black, doing a stake-out, and then making her move. But she'll need someone to be on the look-out and that would probably be me. Time to change the subject. "But back to the new guy, I-", and then it hits me like a ton of bricks. The guy ringing the bell is my tall, dark, and eyebrows! There was something vaguely familiar about him but I was too busy to notice. "The guy with the bell, the Salvation Army Santa, that was my mystery guy", I shout like it's the end of the world, then sprint off leaving Lisa standing alone with her mouth gaped open. I rush back to the spot we were at just a few minutes before, but it's completely empty.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N Okay and I'm back...I do very much appreciate each and every single review you lovely people are leaving for me. A thank you to you, and now SHOUT OUTS ****paumichyy-**** I know right, how crazy is it that she went back and he was gone?! Glad you're lovin it :) ****KtotheH****- Yeah it is a bit mysterious huh? :) ****SuperSillyStories****- Hmm I can imagine! Ha well I can't say I've never thought of trading up shampoo for nair before, but I haven't actually done it. Yeah Kendall is a bit mysterious huh? :) ****Logan'sHoneyPie****- Haha, glad you like it! I guess you'll have to continue on reading to find out :) ****FangedCutie****- I'm glad you think this is exciting, I don't know I kinda feel like it's bouncing all over the place lol, and thanks for the compliments! :) **

This is no ordinary Monday morning at Schmidt, Wallace, and Robbins. Instead of everyone lounging in their offices or running from here to there, all twenty four employees are seated around the large table in the conference room; including me, the secretary. Meetings around here are pretty rare unless it's some big news. I don't really know what business puts me here, but whatever, I don't mind not wearing that annoying headset on my head for any amount of time I absolutely don't have to. Everyone is chattering not so quietly amongst themselves, no doubt speculating on the cause of the meeting. Can't really say it's a surprise since it was e-mailed to everyone on friday afternoon, via me, but still. We all know that Mr. Schmidt is going out on medical leave and someone is coming in to fill in for him. "I hope it's a guy", Khrystle sitting next to me nudges me with her elbow.

I just laugh considering that eighty percent of the law office consists of women. Yup, there is a sad male to female ratio of 6:19. Four of them are married, one happens to be twenty nine and gay, and then there's Lenny. He's thirty eight, at least one hundred pounds overweight, laughs like a hyena, can be quite annoying, and has earned himself the nickname of Leftover Lenny. Yeah, he's been known to sneak into the break room and consume food that doesn't belong to him, and the man seems to have no shame. He'll tell you matter of factly that if your food is kept there for over two days, it's up for grabs. Gross, I know, I would never think about eating someone else's food, but like I said, Lenny is...well he's Lenny. And as crazy as it may sound, he's one of the best lawyers to represent us in State Cases.

So as you can imagine, a new dude in the office is like fresh meat. You'd think we're a bunch of nuns working in here when a delivery guy comes. It can be quite comedic, but all in all we are our own family here, minus a person or two.

"Guess we'll find out soon", I reply and pick my bottle of water up and uncap it. Right on cue the doors open and in walks with Mr. Schmidt, along with my tall, dark, and eyebrows. He's standing less than twenty feet away from me, in the flesh. The handsome stranger who has had my knickers in a twist for a little over a week now fixes his eyes to me and winks, causing me to jerk, and in the process knocking my almost full bottle of water over.

My "oops" comes out in a squeak and my face instantly feels like it's on fire. Mr. Schmidt looks at me and I throw him an apologetic look before running out to get some paper towels. Oh my gosh I feel like such an idiot, but what are the chances of _him being _here? With my heart beating at least triple time, I skitter back into the conference room quickly because all I hear is silence and I know that out of respect Mr. Schmidt is waiting for me to return.

"And she's back. Delia", he gives me a nod and I smile back at him before mopping up the mess all over the table with the roll of paper towels. Brandy, paralegal to Mr. Wallace pushes the trash can over to me and I mouth "thanks" to her as I listen to Mr. Schmidt begin his introduction.

"We all know that I'm leaving...yadda yadda yadda...blah blah blah...", his voice fades out until I hear him mention the word step-son, then my ears perk up. "Kendall Knight. He'll be working with me this week, then taking over for me and I expect you all to show him the respect that he deserves while he's here."

Various "mhmm's", "yeses", and "welcomes'" can be heard, but mostly all of the single younger ladies of the firm are practically either foaming at the mouth, or licking their lips in anticipation of digging their claws into Kendall. I don't blame them, he is tall and swoonworthy with his shaggy blonde hair, piercing green eyes, the pouty pink lips, and the dimples that make me want to lick his face. "Hi everyone", he waves and shoves his hands in his pockets. I try to keep my eyes averted, not wanting him to see me stalking him with my eyes.

"Oooh he's cute", Tina leans over to whisper in my ear, and I sneak a glance over at Kendall, watching him shake everyone's hands as he personally introduces himself to each of the employees.

_Just cute?_, I want to say but I refrain myself. "Yeah", I put the plastic trash can back in it's place and decide to sneak back out to the lobby to begin my work of answering the phone and filing things and all that fun secretarial work for the day, when Kendall steps in front of me, bringing me to an abrupt halt.

"Hi, I'm Kendall Knight", he says with a knowing smile and to my astonishment kisses the top of my hand, then drops it. What?! I don't recall seeing him do that with any of the other ladies.

Feeling pretty dopey, I just grab onto the side of my skirt and lamely mutter, "Delia Perkins. Nice to meet you." Not suave, I know but at least I can give myself points for not stuttering. I just stare into his face stunned, completely forgetting where I'm at until I feel a tap on my back. I turn to see Mr. Schmidt looking at me.

"Delia, I expect that you'll help Kendall out with anything he needs until he gets settled in. I have a case to get to in", he takes a look at the watch adorning his left wrist and winces. "Now. I should have left at least ten minutes ago. Be a doll and show Kendall to my office where he can start looking through my files."

"Sure thing", I respond and wonder why me? Awkward is a word that could be used to describe how I'm feeling right now. A week of looking for a stranger and now he's all up in my face! Not that it's a bad thing, but I need a moment to gather my thoughts. I'm at work and he's the step-son of my boss, of the owner of the company, there's no room for casual-ness right now.

"Mr. Knight", I motion for him to follow me, and I take a few steps. A peek out of the corner of my eye confirms that he's following.

"You can just call me Kendall", he says as we enter into the empty hallway.

"Okay then, Kendall". I turn right into another hallway, then take a left and pass three doors, coming to stop in front of the one labeled Danny Schmidt. "Here we are". Kendall opens the door and steps inside, but I stay in place. I watch as he turns the lights on and makes his way across to the high backed leather chair in front of the desk, then he sits down.

"Will you require anything else?", I ask.

"Umm, I think I'm good for now."

"Okay, well if you need anything just pick up the phone and dial 544, that's my extension."

"Will do", he grins and those dimples pop out making my knees weak. With a grin I walk away, my mind racing wildly with thoughts. First of all, I wanted to thank him again for the ride last week and offer him some money again, but that's kind of a personal matter and maybe right now isn't the best time. Perhaps I can catch him on his way out later or something. Second of all, I have to remind myself that no matter how hot Kendall Knight is, affairs between employees are strictly prohibited so that's big no-no. Besides, there's plenty of other good looking women here prettier than me who are worldly, per se, and not just a country bumpkin that would peak his interest way more than I could. Yeah that's how I feel sometimes with my southern accent but I've always been accepted here, so why am I doubting myself now?

I sneak a quick call over to Lisa and inform her that the new guy is Kendall Knight and that he is indeed hot. I proceed to tell her to meet me outside for lunch so we can chat about it, then hang up the phone quickly. I've never been privy to using the work phones for personal use, but it's just impossible to text my friend now, or anyone for that matter. Unfortunately when my purse was stolen, my cell was inside of it so I'm waiting until the new one I ordered comes in, which could be any day now. Thankfully it's Monday, though, one of the busiest days of the week and there's loads of work to do. There's no shortage of people who have gotten arrested over the weekend and need legal help, and I do so kindly appreciate that to keep me occupied and not give me even one extra second to let my thoughts run wild about Kendall Knight. Something tells me that things are about to get really interesting around here.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N Ehhh I don't know why, but I don't really like this story lol. I'll keep writing it though as long as it's in demand so be too shy to tell me how you feel. Even if it sucks, tell me what I'm lacking...I'm a big girl and can handle constructive criticism. Anywho a big THANK YOU to my reviewers, I love you all! SHOUT OUTS ****KtotheH****- Hehehe yeah I kinda set it up lol. :) ****DeniseDEMD****- Yay I'm glad you like it, I hope I can continue with it :) ****rwjj28****- I'm glad you like it hehe and I hope you'll be happy to see your name at the top of this one! :) ****paumichyy****- Yay, I'm glad you love it! :) ****Logan'sHoneyPie****- hehe yeah I kinda set it up for Kendall to come into the office lol...as for the story line, not giving it away! You'll just have to continue to read it!**

Miraculously the workweek flew by. It had started with Kendall Knight coming to join us here, and I've barely gotten to talk to him all week. I'm not quite sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Besides being normally busy as one of the top law firms in Manhattan, the single ladies all seemed to hover around him like he's a celebrity or something, so I've just kinda been hanging back. Kendall does always have a polite smile for me each and every time he sees me, but as for talking, we just haven't gotten the chance. I don't think it's horrible, because on one hand it keeps me from getting to know him and possibly falling for him. I can see how easy it would be with his great looks and his gentlemanly manner. I can't believe that there were even any rumors saying this guy was anything less than fabulous because that's just what he seems to be. Maybe it's how I imagine him, I don't know. On the other hand, not speaking to the new guy keeps an aura of mystery about him, and that must be why he seems to be on my mind from the minute I wake up until the moment I fall asleep. Much to my dismay, it doesn't seem like having him around has made my life more interesting in any way, unless fantasies count.

It's friday, I'm finally leaving work an hour later than usual, and sadly I realize that the highlight of my week has been the anticipation of the announcement of the candy jar winner. On the front desk there's a jar filled with candy canes, with the object being to guess how many candies are in the jar. Each guest costs ten dollars, with the proceeds going to a local charity who provides Christmas gifts to needy children. I think it's a great idea to do something for those who are less fortunate, but to be completely honest, my eye was on the prize. The prize is a horse and carriage ride around Central Park. I know a lot of people think that may be dull or boring, but it just happens to sound magical to me. I mean, it's written in holiday songs and just seems like a totally romantic thing to do, not that I have a man to go with. Needless to say my fifty bucks worth of guesstimation didn't pay off. Ahh whatever, the world isn't gonna end just because of that.

Leaning against the side of the builiding, obviously waiting for me is Lisa. "Damn girl, where you been?", she asks.

"We had a little good luck party for Mr. Schmidt and I stayed late to help clean up. What are you doing here?", I question my friend.

"Ehh I was wondering if you wanted to go have a drink with me and a few of the other girls from the tanning salon", Lisa says.

Tell me why this sounds suspicious. I raise my eyebrows and cross my arms over my chest. "You waited a whole hour out here in the cold weather to invite me out for a drink?"

"Yeah", she mutters which makes me laugh.

"I'm not buying that. What you got up your sleeve Lis?", I ask her.

"Well Connie's brother who's in the Army is here for a few weeks, and he's looking for a chick to hang out with. And he has a friend." Connie works with Lisa, she's a great girl how I've hung out with several times.

I roll my eyes at her, catching on to her game. "Let me guess, you set both of us up on a blind date?"

Lisa's lips shift up to one side. "Yeah."

"Why didn't you text me? You could have bothered asking me first", I let my annoyance be known. My new phone did come in a few days ago, there was plenty of time for her to ask me.

"Cause I didn't wanna give you a chance to say no", Lisa pouts, then wiggles her eyebrows at me when I don't respond. "You know that black dress I have with the gold trim? The one you salivate all over whenever you see it? I'll let you borrow anytime you want." Smart girl, she knows how to me bait me.

"Ughh", I clench my teeth together tightly. "You owe me!", I can't believe that I agree to go with her. I guess it could be because spending a friday night out with actual people sounds much more enticing than staying in alone in my quiet apartment.

Lisa squeals and throws her arms around me. "You're the best!", she shrieks excitedly and jumps up and down like a five year old standing in front of the tree on Christmas morning.

"Yeah yeah yeah", I push her off of me and take a step back. "But I need to go home and shower and stuff first. Where are we supposed to be going anyway?"

"The Green Giraffe at eight", she says.

"Where is that even at?", I respond. I've heard it's a nice club but I haven't really checked out that scene yet since I've been here in NY.

"It's on Fif-", but she's interrupted when I hear someone else calling my name.

I turn to the left to see Kendall standing there. "Umm, hi", I say.

"Hey Delia. I was wondering if you wanted to join me for the carriage ride tomorrow?" Kendall's long fingers are buttoning his coat up.

It takes a moment for my brain to register what he's talking about. Yeah, the carriage ride...candy jar thingie. I didn't win but didn't inquire about who did, apparently he did. "I don't think-"

"Yeah, she'll go", Lisa blurts out, cutting me off. I turn my neck and give her the evil eye, then face Kendall again.

"Great", he smiles then begins walking away. "I'll pick you up at ten tomorrow in the morning", he calls out behind him, not giving me the chance to tell him I'll meet him there or anything else. I mean, does he even know where I live? I think he does but I'm not one percent sure. The number one question is, why me?

"What?!", I sputter and slap Lisa's arm. "Why the hell did you do that?", I yell angrily.

Lisa looks at me as if I'm brain dead. "He. Is. Hot. There's no way in hell I would let you say no to that!"

"But what if I didn't want to go?"

"But you did".

"So? That doesn't give you the right to answer for me", I reprimand her.

Lisa cleverly pulls her phone out of her jacket pocket. "Oh look at the time, I really have to go". Keeping her gaze averted to the ground, she asks, "You're still gonna go with me tonight right?" She sounds so pathetic that I don't have the heart to tell her no, plus I can't forgo that dress bargain. Bitch has me backed into a corner.

I let out a long sigh, letting her know that I'm not pleased with her behavior, then narrow my eyes at her. "Yes".

"Woo-Hoo", she throws her fist in the air and blows me a kiss before running off. I shake my head at both her and myself as I watch her walk away until she disappears from my vision.

When the hell did she start running my life? One kind of date with a complete stranger tonight, and another with someone I'd be best to keep my distance from. _Ahh suck it up cupcake_, I tell myself. You're only young once and I could use some fun. Besides, how bad could it be anyway?


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N Mucho gracias to my lovely reviewers! SHOUT OUTS ****SuperSillyStories****- Yay well I'm glad to know that fantasies DO count hehe...yeah I agree the girl is set with two dates! :) ****DeniseDEMD****- Yes, maybe it will :) ****rwjj28****- Well I didn't think about that, but how crazy would it be if the blind date was Kendall?! And thank you so much for your advice, it is greatly appreciated! :) ****KtotheH****- If only right? Ahhh well I am glad you like this, I will definitely continue writing it :) ****Logan'sHoneyPie****- haha I actually I have taken quite a liking to Lisa myself. :)**

The doorbell rings and I cringe when my eyes find the clock. It's ten o'clock on the dot. Shit. "Hey Grammy, can I call you back tomorrow? I kinda have something to do."

"Sure sweetheart, take care of yourself. Love you."

"Love you too, give Grampy a kiss and hug from me and tell him I love him, please?"

"Will do darlin'. Goodbye now."

"Bye", I reply back into the receiver and push the end button, dropping my phone onto the bed as I walk past. Darn it, I stayed up and out late last night. The blind date went a lot better than I expected because Lisa hit it off right away with Connie's brother James. The guy Logan I met was really nice but he told me right away that he's not interested in anything because he's got his eye on a girl back home in Texas; and that he was pretty much dragged along to come out. I laughed because it was almost the same for me. With the awkwardness out of the way, Logan and I chatted it up and danced a few times, having a great time.

So besides staying out way later than I should have last night, I then got caught up talking to my grandmother, and now here is Kendall to pick me up; my hair is still wet and I'm not even dressed yet, nor is there a trace of make-up on my face. Oh well, it's my fault for having such a good time last night knowing I had plans today. I suck it up and tell the butterflies in my belly to behave as I think about who is standing on the other side of the door.

I unlock it and put the biggest smile on my face. "Hi, Kendall", I tell him and wave him in. One of his eyebrows raises as he looks at my clothes, yeah I'm not dressed yet. Even though I had a shower I just tossed on some comfy pajama pants and a t-shirt to wear while I got ready. "Umm, I'm kinda running a bit late", I close my eyes for a second, hoping he's not mad.

"No worries", he brushes it off. "We get there when we get there."

"Okay great". I grab the remote off the coffee table and motion for him to sit on the couch. "Just find something to watch, make yourself at home, and I'll be out as soon as I can." I take a quick peek at Kendall's clothes to go by how to dress for the day, and notice that he's wearing a pair of dark wash skinny jeans. I can't see his shirt because his coat is still on, but there's a gray beanie sitting on top of his head. Too cute! I run back to my bedroom, embarrassed to have been seen like this but hey it could always have been so much worse. Anyway, I take a mental rundown of the clothes hanging in my closet and my dresser as I blow-dry my hair. I will definitely wear jeans, and top it with a sweater. I mean a sweater can be casual or can be a little dressy. My Ugg boots will add on quite nicely.

A bit later I return to the living room where Kendall is sitting on the couch laughing at some t.v. show. "I'm ready", I tell him. For some reason I feel like I should be nervous because my tummy is tied in knots when I think about him, but when I'm in his presence, I'm completely at ease. I shrug it off as I put my coat on and wonder how Kendall knows where I live. I know he knows which building, but the actual door? Ehh I'll let it remain a mystery because I have another question that's more important, and cutting to the chase is what I need to do. "Why did you want me to come along with you today?" I snag my purse hanging on the hook by the door and turn the t.v. off as Kendall puts his coat back on.

He shrugs. "Maybe I want to get to know you. Everyone else at work has bombarded me except for you."

"You could have always approached me, ya know", I tease and hold the door open for him to exit. Which is true, if he wanted to fight off the mobs of women always flocking around him.

"Yeah...I don't know. Work is work, and it's busy there."

I laugh, knowing exactly what he's talking about as I push the button for the elevator to go down. "True." Does he know there's the policy against employees dating? Wait, let me catch myself, who even says he's after me romantically? It could just be a friendly thing. But do I even want a boyfriend? Ehh, who knows.

Kendall and I chat mindlessly like two old friends on the drive over to Central Park, and then while we wait in line, we're sipping steaming cups of coffee. I mockingly roll my eyes into the back of my head as I take another drink of my mocha cappuccino; it's the best I've ever had and even Starbuck's can't compare. Kendall stopped at a little bakery called Dolce after parking the car, then we walked over here.

Finally it's our turn and the footman helps me into the carriage, then Kendall follows and tucks himself nicely into the seat next to me. "Is this your first time?"

"Yeah, it is", I tell him excitedly, not able to keep the emotion out of my voice.

He smiles, then responds. "Me, too."

I don't know why, but I'm kinda surprised that he hasn't done this before. The man climbs up onto his seat, takes the reins, then gently swings the whip at the beautiful brown horses. "Really?", I question and my curiosity grows. "Have you lived here your whole life?"

"Yes, and yes", he chuckles. "How about you? Something tells me you're not from around here."

I giggle and look up when I feel something wet and cold land on my nose; it's snowing. "How observant you are, Mr. Knight", I joke. "But you're right. I grew up in Alabama and just came here at the end of October."

"Wow. What brought you here?" Kendall shakes his head at himself. "Nevermind, you don't have to answer that if you don't want to."

"No, it's fine." I take another sip of my coffee. "It was a job transfer. It came up and my old boss told me about it, and I decided why not?"

"Hmm, you're not afraid to take chances. I like that". Kendall winks at me. I'm not sure if I'm supposed to feel warm when he does this, but my blood heats up. He continues. "So you've been here for about two months now. How do you like it?"

"I like it a lot", I tell him honestly. "It's much different than the small town I'm from, but it's...it's amazing. Fast paced, lots of people, crazy traffic, smog...", I trail off and let my eyes wander. It's like I'm in a dream riding here, with the snow falling. It's pretty comparable to a scene in a Christmas movie or a perfect postcard picture. The cold is something I'm definitely not used to, but it doesn't bother me.

...

Surprisingly our conversation didn't end with the carriage ride. It continued on through a walk through the zoo, lunch at a cafe, a very child-like but fun ride on the carousel, my first time at an ice skating rink, and dinner to finish it all up. I learned a lot about Kendall; his dad ran off when he was three, and he was raised by his mom alone up until he was eleven, then Danny came into the picture. Kendall had been a troubled kid, letting his anger at his father get to him and rule his life. He was in trouble here and there, and was even sent to juvie for a year. For a long time he placed blame on his mom, not knowing what else to do. When Mr. Schmidt came along, he always invited Kendall to join in activities and eventually he came around. Kendall always respected him, but still had trouble dealing with his mom. He got arrested a few times, but managed to finish high school. He was out travelling the world and something came up that called him back home. After it happened, he straightened up and has gotten himself together. It's still a mystery to me as to what happened, but maybe he'll tell me about it sometime. I'm not the type of person to push or pry.

After hearing all of this I was stunned because Kendall has always been polite, respectful, and helpful to others, and before I could stop myself, I spilled about my childhood to him. All in all it was one of the best days I've had in a long time and I got a bit of insight into the new guy at work. He didn't make any moves or insinuate our day together was a date or anything more than friends, but several times I caught myself wondering what it would be like to kiss Kendall, or how my hand would feel being held by his.

And that brings us back to here and now, Kendall just walked me to my door and I unlocked it. He makes no motion of wanting to come inside, so I look at him shyly and utter, "thanks."

"No problem", he smiles. "Hey if you're not doing anything tomorrow, I have something important to do and more help is always welcome. It would be nice if you came along."

Honestly, besides doing laundry, my day tomorrow is free but I need to take some time to think about and reflect upon things. "I'm not sure yet what I'm doing, but I can call you...or text, whatever you prefer."

Kendall chuckles, making my insides melt. "Fine. Let me uhh give you my number though." I enter his number into my phone and tell him bye, then lean back against my door and watch as he walks away.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N Thank you to all of you lovely reviewers! SHOUT OUTS ****SuperSillyStories****- Glad you loved it, and heck yeah it sounds like a great time with Kendall! :) ****KendallsCoverGirl804****- Aww, thank you so much...I saw all your reviews for my Christmas stories and I want to thank you for that! You are awesome :) ****FangedCutie****- no worries, mama! Yeah Lisa is a pretty funny character, for some reason I imagine her being like Cyndi Lauper with the accent and personality lol. As for the girl back home in TX, I'll see what I can add in there for ya sometime :) ****KtotheH****- Hehe I'm glad they had a good day together as well...well keep reading! :) ****rwjj28****- Eep! I sowwy! But I did remedy it for you and hopefully you like the part in this chapter! :) ****DeniseDEMD-**** Awww, well thank you so much! Yes a carriage ride, I mean just imagine, in the snow _ hehe :)**

I park my car in the parking lot and meet Kendall at Kent General Hospital like he asked me to. A look at my watch confirms that it's noontime, what time he asked me to be here as the automatic door opens and I walk through. "Delia", I'm greeted before I even see him, but when my eyes hone in on him, he's standing next to a tan person dressed in a Santa Claus suit.

I make my way onver to them. "Oh hey Kendall and...Santa", I say, and note that Kendall is once again wearing skinny jeans. Let me say that they do much more for his skinny frame than those dress slacks he always wear to work.

"This actually is one of my very best friends in the whole entire world, Carlos Garcia. Carlos, Delia. Delia, Carlos", he introduces us rather formally.

We say hi to eachother and Kendall continues on. "I love to come here to visit the kids up on the third floor, and being that Christmas is only a few weeks away, we thought the kids would like a visit." Kendall motions to his friend, and I'm amazed and even a bit confused by what he just said.

"Oh, okay", I reply.

Kendall smiles and so does Carlos. "Ready?", he asks.

"Yeah", I shake my head not really knowing all the details of what we're supposed to do, but I can't very well back out now.

A few minutes later we arrive to the playroom up on the third floor, where about ten kids ranging from around three to twelve are sitting around doing various activities. Some are coloring, some are watching a movie, and two little boys are playing with matchbox cars. They're all either dressed in a hospital gown, a bathrobe, or some kind of pajamas and my heart goes out to these kids.

"Kendall!", a little blonde girl with blue eyes screams and runs over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist. She doesn't let go, but she pulls back far enough to yell, "KENDALL'S HERE EVERYBODY!" All of the other kids come running in excitedly and I can't help to think that they're more anxious to see Kendall than Santa.

Kendall gets a chair for Carlos to sit on, then we line the kids up for a turn to sit on Santa's lap and tell him what they wish for Christmas and get a candy cane. When each child has had their chance, Carlos leaves and Kendall goes to a closet that he unlocks and takes out a guitar case.

"You're gonna play for us?!", a tiny bald boy who I come to know as Dakota asks.

"Yup", Kendall smiles and rubs his head. Dakota runs off wildly, and I sit back watching as Kendall chatters with the kids while he tunes it, then gets them to all sit down by the Christmas tree. I sit down with them, next to Carly, a brown haired little girl who has glasses and is missing patches of hair. She holds my hand and watches as Kendall starts playing Christmas songs on his guitar, and we fall into a sing-along. His voice is wonderful, totally original and just...yeah. This whole experience is great, well more than great, but there are no words to describe the feeling in my chest at playing with these kids. It's obvious that they're sick with cancer or some form of other terminal illness. I've had to catch myself several times from crying, it's so unfair that these beautiful children have to live with this.

Once the sing along is over, Kendall and I take turns reading several books to the kids, and Kendall is in the middle of _Twas The Night Before Christmas_ when my phone rings.

It's in my pocket and makes me jump, so I answer it quickly without looking at the caller. "Hello?", I whisper into the receiver and scamper across the room.

"Hey D, what's up? Lisa and James are chillin over here, I thought maybe you might wanna come hang...you know, save my eyes from watching these two horny toads sucking face all day." It's Logan. He took it upon himself to calling me 'D' the other night and his raspy voice is another dead giveaway.

I bite my lip to stifle my giggle. "I would love to Loges, but I'm busy doing something", I tell him.

"Hey, no worries. Maybe I can go to my room and watch a movie with the volume turned all the way up."

"Yeah, you do that. Hey listen, I can't really talk right now. Can I call you back later?" Kendall looks over and smiles at me, and I know I'm being as quiet as I possibly can but a surge of guilt rushes through me anyway.

"Sure. Talk to you later."

"Later, Loges", I shake my head and hang up, slding the phone into it's place in my back pocket and walk back over to Kendall, who is now finished reading the book.

"Sorry", I whisper to him.

"It's okay, but should I be jealous?"

"Jealous? Of what?"

"Whoever that was put a really big smile on your face", Kendall's tone lets me know that he's only teasing about the jealousy part, plus he winks.

I laugh. "Oh no, it was just a friend. A very funny one, though."

"Ahhh, a boyfriend?"

"Well, he's a boy and a friend but it's not like that."

"Ok, so how about a boyfriend then, you got one of those?"

"No, I sure don't."

"I like that", his grin is mischievious.

Oh my, this makes my body tingle, and I decide to give it back to him. "How about you? Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Nope", he shakes his head. My heart feels lighter at hearing this, almost relieved.

We stay playing games and cards, and talking with the kids until they're called for dinner. They all groan but give us hugs, yup even me, then ask me if I'll come back sometime. "Sure I will", I told them, and hugged each one of their precious bodies extra tight. This isn't an empty promise, it's one I fully intend to keep. Kendall and I clean up the mess from everything, then it's our turn to leave.

"I'm glad you brought me here today", I tell him.

He looks at me surprised. "You are?"

I nod my head and bite my lip. "I had a great time, and I've never felt before what it's like to be here spending time with these kids today."

Kendall smiles, but doesn't say anything. "So what compelled you to start coming here?", I ask out of curiosity.

Kendall's face becomes grim, his mouth is tight-lipped. "It's not something I really like to talk about."

"It's okay", I let him know and reach over to pat his hand. I understand that sometimes people don't feel like talking about things and even though I'm curious, I won't nag him about it. "So you wanna grab something for dinner or something?", I suggest to change the subject.

"Yeah sure".

...

It has been a long day, and Kendall and I are both in much better spirits when we arrive back to the hospital parking lot and he walks me back to my car. Once I unlock the doors, I turn around noticing that Kendall is awfully close. It's not a bad thing but I can't think straight for the feel of his body heat emanating onto me. "So, umm", I tuck my hair behind my ears, not knowing what to really say.

"So", Kendall gives a shy grin and takes a step closer to me, letting his hand trail down my arm. His eyes watch my mouth and he catches my fingers, fidgeting with them. My body breaks out in goosebumps, if I didn't know better I would say that Kendall's getting ready to kiss me, and I really want him to.

I stare back wide eyed and blurt out the first thing that comes to my mind. "There's a policy against employees dating". I try to move away from him but my body won't obey, all I can do is face-palm at my lame remark.

Kendall chuckles lightly with a playful twinkle in those gorgeous green eyes of his. "Who said anything about dating? I just wanted to kiss you."

My heart leaps up into my throat, he wants to put his lips on mine? "I-I don't th-think that's a good idea", I stutter and feel my face flush. No matter how much I want it, it's probably for the best if we don't. Way to go dopey! I would kick myself if I could right now.

His eyes darken slightly with intent as he nears me yet again, his breaths bouncing off of my cheek while he cups my cheek in his hand. "You don't want me to kiss you?", he asks.

I close my eyes and sigh, relishing the feel of his touch, and decide that telling the truth is always the best policy. "I do want you to kiss me, Kendall, but it's against work rules."

Kendall bites his lip for a moment before a smug look crosses his face. "Well it's not really doing anything wrong if I kiss you and you push me away, is it?"

I think it over for the briefest of seconds. "N-not really", I shrug my shoulder meekly. Kendall takes my hand in his and tugs me closer to him, so I'm forced to look at his face.

His voice softens. "Just let me kiss you here and now, and then I'll leave you alone while we're still working together."

"Fine", I nod my head. He could have asked me to jump off of London Bridge with him and I would have agreed. I wonder if he's ever been told no while flashing those dimples around?

"Good", Kendall smiles, licks his lips, and starts leaning in. I close my eyes and wait for his lips to meet mine. They do so firmly, but they're soft as he brushes them against mine, this way and then that. I can't seem to push him away, instead my hands make their way up his coat covered arms and come to a stop at his shoulders. I feel him smile then tease my lower lip gently with his teeth before suckling at it. My arms loop around his neck now and I lean into Kendall. His hands slide down my back and he holds me at my waist when his tongue sneaks inside. I open my mouth a little more granting him more access and let his tongue explore my mouth, then come to tangle and twist with mine. Only when I desperately need a breath of fresh air, do I flatten my palms against his chest and push him away. I'm pretty much gasping for breath, staring up at those eyes. Kendall takes the initiative and moves back, moving several feet away as I rest my hand on my car for stability.

"I'm only taking over for my dad for six weeks, maybe two months, until he recovers. After that I'd love to take you out on a date", he says. My tongue is still tied up from the amazing kiss, and all I can do is nod as I watch him walk away, then I climb into my car and start it up.

Oh I'm going to hell for this. How can I work around this guy for a couple of months and keep myself in check?


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N Okay so this isn't the most eventful chapter, I just can't seem to get it together lol. Thank you to all of you wonderful reviewers, I love you guys! SHOUT OUTS ****rwjj28****- Haha no problem, glad you liked the kiss :) ****Guest1****- Hahaha yeah they could have totally gotten it on the parking lot, but that would be kinda awkward right...a hospital parking lot? hehe :) ****SuperSillyStories****- awww hehe glad you thought it was so cute. Hey i'm not opposed to an ethnic Santa, especially not if it's Carlos, I'll sit on his lap anyday! I totally agree, the two months are gonna be hell on Delia :) ****Guest2****- lol, I'm jealous too! Kendall surely is amazing *dreamy sigh* :) ****KtotheH****- Haha I so loved your review! And I agree, they do need to be together, but...yeah just but cause when they get together the story will be over, or will it? hehe :) ****Logan'sHoneyPie****- Hehe well it's not really a secret, he just doesn't wanna talk about it yet. Of course they would kiss, as for teasing until she goes insane? Idk about that :) ****paumichyy****- well he more than wanted to kiss her, but he wants to date her,too...when they can :) ****FangedCutie****- Well thanks, Yeah I know right, Delia just dug herself a hole letting him kiss her huh? :) ****DeniseDEMD****- Yay, thanks! Aww it was kind of touching and sweet chapter, i'm glad you reacted so much to it. Okay, he's not taking his shirt off in this chapter because I just couldn't incorporate it into here, but it will be kinda coming off next chapter, that's all I'll say, but it'll be going back on...hehe, got anymore requests? :)**

Somehow at work on Monday, Kendall had tried to make coffee in his dad's office when the coffeepot started smoking profusely and he dialed me for help. I went to help him and figured out that he had forgotten to add water, but showed him the proper way to use it, and had a hard time keeping myself together with being in such close proximity with him. We talked for a few minutes and decided to keep our 'relationship' strictly professional for now so that neither of our jobs could end up in jeopardy. That didn't stop him from dialing my extension from time to time just to say "hi", or tell me that he liked what I was wearing. I would playfully reprimand him each time because after he hung up, I'd be on cloud nine and totally distracted from my work. With the importance of my job, I can't afford to make mistakes. That didn't stop Kendall though, and I can't deny he was flattering me. He would send me a text everynight that read **Goodnight and sweet dreams**, then on friday morning he even left a pink rose on my desk with a little note attached that said, _Something beautiful for someone beautiful._ For the next probably ten seconds for the rest of the day, I would lift the flower to my nose and inhale it's sweet scent.

Just as I had thought, it's crazy seeing Kendall everyday and having to hide my feelings. Yeah, with each day that passes, I'm falling a little more. How can I not? He's like a modern day Romeo. Due to our mutual attraction towards eachother, we also decided not to see eachother outside of work just yet because that would complicate things in the office. Yet, he did ask if I would come to the hospital on Sunday again to visit with the kids again. I told him I'd definitely be there, and with time to think it over, I decided it's a smart decision because we're there around other people and not just left alone. Not only that, I enjoyed visiting with those kids. I don't know the severity of their illnesses, but if I can spend a few minutes with a child whose family can't make it there because of financial issues or other matters, then I'll do it. There's plenty of room in my heart to share my time with these innocent kids, and the smiles on their faces was more than enough to encourage me to come back.

I had spent Saturday with Lisa, James, and Logan, hanging out in their hotel room and then going to the mall. It was a really good time and I don't think I had ever laughed so much in my entire life as I did that day with Logan being the prankster that he is. He bought one of those 'Pooters' from Spencer's and walked around pushing it as he bent over, and the thing would make farting noises. It was interesting to watch people's reactions. Some people would roll their eyes or make dirty faces and hurry away. Some would try not to giggle and continue walking past, and some just acted like nothing happened, or plain burst out laughing. Immature I know, but hey when you're in the military and see or do things you never wanna do or see again, you gotta balance that out with some fun. We watched a movie, did some shopping, and had fun at the food court. Logan is such a goofball; when we were eating he got down in the floor in the middle of the foodcourt and did some break-dancing. Yeah, he's a really fun, crazy guy, and a good distraction to keep my mind off of Kendall.

Finally Sunday comes around and I'm equally excited to see the kids again, plus see Kendall as well outside of work. Hey, I can't help it if he looks good in his skinny jeans, the boy has some suggestive hips let me tell you. I do a couple loads of laundry and chill out drinking my coffee, then have breakfast before getting a shower and getting ready to meet Kendall at the hospital at twelve o'clock again. Just like before, he's already there when I arrive, and I recognize the latino next to him as Carlos, except he's in regular clothes today. "Hey guys", I greet them as I walk in.

"Hey", Kendall looks me over appreciatively. Carlos just says, "Hi".

"What's that?", Kendall motions to the tins in both of my hands. I hold my left hand out, "home-made fudge"; then my right arm, "chocolate chip cookies made from scratch."

"Mmm", Carlos licks his lips and I don't miss the way his eyes light up.

Kendall chuckles and pokes him in the side. "Dude, they're for the kids."

"Oh, right", Carlos says and smiles. "But I've been a good boy all year", he juts his lower lip out into a pout.

I giggle before responding, "Well I guess it's a good thing I made plenty." It's true, I learned to make all of these sweet treats from Grammy, and the woman never cooked anything that wasn't enough to feed the army.

"Come on, let's go", Kendall takes the initiative and we load up into the elevator and make our way up to the third floor. The routine is pretty much the same as the last time, except with Kendall sneaking down to the cafeteria to buy milk for everyone. He told me we're not supposed to bring in treats for the kids because the rules are so strict on non-hospital foods, but since it's the holidays, we'll let it slide. I was relieved because I had stayed up late last night making the fudge and baking the cookies, with nothing but good intentions in mind. Surely these kids deserve a treat from time to time, everyone loves fudge and cookies.

We do another sing-along and read books, as well as play games with the kids, and I lay in the floor and color a picture with a few of the girls. Carlos bless his heart, gets down on his hands and knees and gives all the kids horsey-back rides. He's great with kids, a born natural. Kendall makes sure to spend a few minutes with each of the kids, doing something of their choosing and I slowly feel my heart being pulled right out of my chest. Nothing beats when he was helping Dakota put a puzzle together and I heard Dakota ask, "Is Delia your girlfriend?"

I was shocked, but I kept a straight face not to let on that I could overhear them. "No", Kendall answered him.

"But why not? She's pretty and she's so nice to us."

Out of the corner of my eye I see Kendall sneek a peek in my direction then smile at Dakota. He leaned down and whispered something in his ear, which I unfortunately couldn't hear, and then Dakota covered his mouth with little hands to suppress his laughter, his eyes wider than saucers. I'd be a liar if I said I wasn't curious as hell as to what Kendall said to him, but maybe someday I'll find out.

As we did last week, we stay until the kids are taken away for dinner then we start to tidy up the play area. I'm on my knees picking up scattered crayons when Kendall comes to assist me. "Did you have fun?", he asks.

"I did". I shrug my shoulders. "I really like coming here."

"I like it when you're here", Kendall grins and hands me two crayons. I feel the pull as if he's a piece of metal and I'm a magnet. Quickly I place the crayons back in their box and Kendall moves closer, just looking at me. He brushes the tips of his fingers down my cheek, then slides the other hand to the back of my neck, biting onto his bottom lip.

I know I should move away because we made an agreement, but I don't have the strength. "I really shouldn't want to kiss you", he whispers.

I shake my head, agreeing. "You shouldn't".

"But I really want to."

"And I really want you to". His fingers playing underneath my hair feels incredible, and I close my eyes to further revel in the sensation. Not quite able to help myself, I lean closer to Kendall and sigh.

Not even two seconds after that his lips are on mine, a hint of fudge lingers on his breath. I press my lips harder to his and run my tongue along the seam of his mouth when all of a sudden we hear someone clearing their throat. I jump back, startled and my eyes fly open. Carlos is standing next to us. "Looks like the two of you were too busy to hear me come back", he teases.

"Umm...sorry", I murmur and feel a slight blush make it's way up my cheeks. I stand up and close the box of crayons, and set it on the shelf next to the coloring books. When I turn around Kendall is up on his feet as well, looking at me. This is dangerous territory, my hormones rage when I'm around Kendall like I'm a fourteen year old teenager, and maybe it's a good thing we were interrupted by Carlos, because who knows how far things would have gone? My eyes scan the rest of the room and I realize that everything is now cleaned up.

"Look's like everything's done", I say nonchalantly.

"Oh, dude", Carlos slaps his forehead. "I just came from seeing your dad. He wants you to stop by on your way out."

"Oh, okay".

"How is he doing by the way?", I ask and remove my coat from the hook it's hanging on and put it on.

"He's doing really well. Doctor says he'll get to go home sometime during the middle of the week."

"Wow, that's good", I remark and zip my coat up. Mr. Schmidt is such a sweet man and respects all of his employees, I'm glad everything's gone okay for him. "Well, I'm out. Later, Carlos. See you tomorrow, Kendall", I call then walk out.

...

It's monday morning and I'm still half asleep while sitting at my desk. What can I say, my mind ran wild all night both while I was awake and asleep about Kendall Knight, and let's just say that I didn't get much sleep, and I probably won't until he bangs this sexual frustration outta me. I bring the steaming hot mug of coffee up to my lips for a sip when Lisa comes running in the door like she's being chased by a psycho with a chainsaw.

"Oh my gawd Dee-Dee", her nickname for me. "Did you read the newspaper yet today?" Her feet bring her to a stop right in front of my desk.

"No", I tell her bluntly. "Between all the calls with people wanting to get out of jail for being drunken assholes over the weekend and re-scheduling appointments for Mr. Wallace since he's sick with the flu, I haven't had a chance to even breathe." I have a sip of my drink. "What's up?"

"Oh girl", Lisa shakes her head back and forth, then slams a newspaper down on the desk in front of me. "Get out your box of kleenex cause you're gonna need it!"

"What?"

"Look, I can't stay cause Vinnie's in the tanning bed that was broken last week and the idiot who supposedly fixed it looked like he just graduated from kindergarten and got his license from a cracker jack box. I can't leave him because if it doesn't shut off in time, Vinnie will be burnt like a lobster." With a quick look at the door, Lisa starts scurrying away. "Hey, come see me on your lunch break".

"Okay", and with that she's out the door. I drop my gaze to the newspaper and read the headline **LOCAL MAN TURNS LIFE AROUND AND HELPS THOSE IN NEED. **My eyes graze the picture of Kendall dressed handsomely in a suit, and I start reading the article.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N Okay, so I don't like the way this turned out, Idk maybe I'm just in a funk lol but I decided to post it anyway. To avoid any confusion, the stuff written in bold italics is the newspaper article that Delia is reading :) Oh and I didn't proofread it so there's probably lots of mistakes, but then again there always are, so yeah. Once again, thank you to you lovely reviewers, you guys are awesome! SHOUT OUTS ****KtotheH****- Hehehe it would be a lot better if Mr. Schmidt did come back soon huh? And I totally agree, Kendall IS perfect! :) ****SuperSillyStories****- Hehe well I hope it's interesting, I just wrote it within like the past hour and I'm just feeling all blah about it...but hopefully it's up to your standards. Yup, Kendall's hips DON'T lie! And thank you for all of your compliments :) ****rwjj28****- Yay thanks! Maybe just maybe they will be together for Christmas, I like that idea myself ;) ****FangedCutie****- Hehe well thanks, I'll take that as a compliment :) ****Logan'sHoneyPie****- Haha well considering the last chapter was your bedtime story, I'm glad it wasn't smutty lol. Yeah they gotta stay away from eachother, stupid work rules :/ You shall receive your answer in this chapter :) ****Ileana****- Haha well read on chick, you shall find out ;) ****IheartKendall****- I updated as soon as I possibly could :) ****DeniseDEMD****- Okay, I lied he's not shirtless in this chapter, but next one, I promise! For some reason I just couldn't work it out, but I'm sure you'll understand when you're reading it lol. And thanks for all of your wonderful compliments, gives me a boost of confidence! And Kendall wants to ask her out when Mr. Schmidt comes back cause there's a rule against workplace romances...yeah I know, it sucks! ;) **

** J**_**ennifer Knight-Schmidt and well known attorney for the state, Daniel Schmidt's step-son didn't always have the best life, but he changed his life around when a tragic incident hit their family. Kendall Knight, the 27 year old owner of the popular dance club Price has had success in his recent years, but growing up wasn't easy for him. After sitting down with him for an interview, I have come to the conclusion that Mr. Knight is a very kind, big hearted man with a soft spot for children. He donates twenty percent of his weekly earnings to local charities, he visits with the sick kids of Kent General Hospital for several hours each and every Sunday, he stands outside getting donations for the Salvation Army, he spent two thousand dollars at Toys R Us on items that he dropped off to Toys For Tots, and Mr. Knight sent an incredible check of fifty thousand dollars to the cancer society. In my eyes this man is caring, and of course upon learning all of this about the, might I add handsome man, my curiosity peaked, therefore encouraging me to ask a very personal question. "What makes you so passionate about children and doing all of these wonderful things for the community?" Kendall got quiet at first, so I decided to use a different approach. "In this day and age, with the economy not being so great, Kendall Knight gives so freely. You have the means to build a casino and make tons of money, you could buy a yacht and travel the world. The possibilities are endless, but you focus so much on charities. What compels you Mr. Knight?" **_

_** Something clouded this man's eyes and the expression on his face changed. He was completely silent for about two minutes and I felt defeat, figuring he wasn't going to answer my question. Instead, he surprised me when he leaned forward, rested his hands on his knees, took a deep breath, then poured his heart out to me. "It all started when I was three, or so my mom says. I guess I was really too young to remember, but my dad left and I never saw him again. I was so small that I honestly can't recall anything about him. So it was just me and mom, and she was a good mother, a great mother, I just couldn't see that at the time past the pain I was harboring. I went to my friend's houses and they had two parents, they had a man to hang out and do guy stuff with. I don't know why but I started to feel sorry for myself and let anger build up inside of me. I became really rebellious to my mom, figuring she was the reason my dad had ran off. She had to have done something, and I told her this many times when I was a hormonal pre-teen boy, but she never said one bad word about my father, not one single time. But she worked hard and supported me on her own, never doing things for herself or buying herself anything she wanted, she focused on me. It was just me and my mom until she met Danny when I was eleven. He was always nice to me, and offerred to include me in activities with them and stuff, but I didn't want anything to do with my mom. Eventually they fell in love and got married, and two years later when I turned thirteen, mom got pregnant with my little sister, Katie. I loved her from the moment she was born, but I was still rotten to my mom. Needless to say I was a troubled teenager and got myself into lots of hot water. I even landed myself into a juvenile center for my freshman year of high school. Danny would try to talk to me, but I was stubborn, at that age I knew everything, and even though I didn't heed his advice, I never mouthed off to him or disrespected him. **_

_** After I graduated high school, mom and Danny tried to get me into college, but I wasn't interested. I just wanted to party it up and drink and have fun. I never did drugs though, to my credit. I just wasted a whole year doing nothing but this. Just after my nineteenth birthday, my best friend Dustin and I decided to backpack through Europe. We started off in Ireland, then went through the U.K, next was France, and Italy was our last stop when I got the news that would forever change my life. I got a letter from my mom saying that my baby sister Katie had cancer. I remember just totally freaking out, like I had a complete breakdown. I went out and got as drunk as I could trying to numb the pain and I felt so crappy the next day, but all I could think about is going back home to see my little sister. Dustin and I hopped on the next flight out of Italy and I rushed back to New York. It had been two months since the doctors found a lump under Katie's armpit. After numerous, thorough tests, it was confirmed that it was malignant. Katie had been doing chemotherapy for just a couple of weeks when I first saw her cuddled up in her bed watching t.v. She still looked okay, but as the days, weeks, and months passed, her little body grew frail and she was sick most of the time. I had never believed in God before or even prayed, but I prayed for the first time in my life when I sat up the whole night with my seven year old sister who was vomitting every time you turned around." A teary eyed Kendall stops and takes a drink from his bottle of water.**_

_** "That kinda stuff just gets to you. Watching an innocent child going through something like that is terrifying and unfair and made me realize that I was throwing my life away being a bum. There was and are people that would love to have my healthy body and my life to live, while all I did was act negative and waste my precious time. I feared so bad that I would lose Katie, but she's a fighter and two years later, after three rounds of chemo and a radiation treatment, she was declared cancer free. My nine year old sister would be healthy again and get to live a normal life. I have honestly never felt so great in my life when I heard that news, and it was my turn around point. I apologized to my mom and started being the son I should have always been, getting along with her and showing her the respect she deserved. I even apologized to Danny and thanked him for taking mom and myself on, he didn't have to do that. And to top it off, no matter how I ever acted, he never treated me as anything less than his son. For the first time, I wanted to do something to make my parents proud. Yes, Daniel Schmidt may not be my biological father, but he's all I've ever known in a fatherly way and I even started calling him dad. I decided to get educated and become a lawyer. Whenever I could, I volunteered for charities and did whatever I could. And I started going to the hospital and visiting with the terminally ill kids. I found that I really enjoyed it, each and every new child I meet touches my life, and I want them to know that they are all very special. I want to give back because I've been blessed with so much in my life. So why you ask? Because I know how hard it is and I want to make the world a better place for kids. Children are our future, and we have to take care of them." Kendall sits up so he's resting against the back of the chair and he smiles, "One thing lead to another and here I am sitting with you", he says.**_

I reach for a tissue and dab at the tears that have slipped from my eyes at reading this article. I never could have imagined Kendall going through all of this, and being so positive all the time. I'm just floored, and after running to the restroom to refresh myself, I take the newspaper with me to Kendall's office. I knock on the door and wait for him to answer, then smile at him in awe as I set the paper down on his desk.

Not speaking a word but curiosity in his eyes, Kendall is halfway to his desk when his door bursts open and Cathy Perrington barges in. "Oh my gosh Kendall, you're in the newspaper!", she practically screams and runs to him pushing herself against him in what I believe is supposed to be a hug. I roll my eyes at the firm's slut when I notice her black skirt couldn't get any shorter unless it was supposed to be a piece of lingerie. I even noticed her blouse is only buttoned up covering half of her boobs. I watch in irritation as she just holds onto him and starts blabbering about something as if I'm not even in here. I clear my throat to make her aware but all she does is turn to me and narrow her eyes, giving me the stink eye as if I'm a piece of scum on the sidewalk outside, then turns right back to Kendall and continues on with her babbling.

I feel a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach when Kendall just shrugs as I look at him, and I do all I can...I walk out of his office, slamming the door behind me.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N Sorry for the delayed update, I wrote a Logan one-shot earlier for someone and just got around to writing this. Nonetheless it's here and as always, a big thank you to my wonderful reviewers. SHOUT OUTS ****IheartKendall****- Yeah, I feel your pain :) ****KtotheH****- Yes, poor Kendall, it was sad but at least everything's much better now! Mm-hmmm Cathy just had to barge in all unwanted didn't she? Hehe :) ****SuperSillyStories****- Yup, poor Kendall, but at least he's in a much better place now. As for the article, thank you but I thought the article sucked donkey ass, but that may just be because I was super tired lol. And the shrug, yeah *sigh*, men can be so clueless! :) ****rwjj28****- It sure was sad, not too sure about the beautifully written part, but thank you...I do enjoy compliments :) ****FangedCutie****- Hehe well thanks, I'm glad you liked that chapter. Yeah it was quite sad, but...no buts it was just sad :) ****Torilovesu****- glad you love it and I hope this update came soon enough for you! :) ****Logan's Honey Pie****- Yeah I know it was hard, sorry about that. Yeah Cathy's quite a wench isn't she? :) ****Ileana****- Yay, I'm glad you liked the article, and I agree about Cathy! :) ****DeniseDEMD****- Yes there was some behind the scenes to kendall's past...glad you're still liking this :) ****Paumichyy****- Yeah, Kendall went through alot, but he's a better person because of it! :) **

Not even five minutes after I ran away with my tail tucked between my legs, Kendall calls. I hang up the phone as soon as I realize who it is. I mean, Cathy was all up on him and he just stood there letting her. Like, he didn't try to push her off of him or anything, but honestly what upsets me the most is that I didn't get to have my personal moment with Kendall. No, it wasn't going to be anything more than friendly, but it was going to be special, just me and him; until _she_ just had to barge in ruining it.

Anyway, it's not like I have much to be mad about, we're not dating...yet. But still, I'm green with envy. I throw myself into my work to keep my mind off it until about five minutes until lunchtime Kendall comes strolling through the lobby from his office. "Hey", he walks up to me with his jacket thrown over his shoulder, hanging off of two of his fingers.

I cut my eyes his way and ignore him, then go back to typing, but with not much luck. I mean, he's just standing there looking good enough to eat and I can't concentrate. "Is there something you want?", I ask him without bothering to look at him. I don't think I can handle seeing those dimples, no, they are my weakness.

"Yeah", he leans closer and I get a good whiff of his cologne, and sigh. "I wanna know what's got your panties all in a wad".

I can't say I'm not surprised with his outburst, but I try not to let Kendall know. "That's not a discussion that we should have right now."

"So I'll call you later then", he persists.

"No. We agreed only to speak at work remember", I whisper with sass and look around to make sure no one else is around to hear. In a way this is true, we haven't actually spoken, but he still texts me every morning and every night.

"Okay then", I watch as Kendall nonchalantly drapes his jacket over a chair and then leans back against my desk, drumming his fingers on the wood.

"Ugh, I'm trying to work here", I snap.

"And I'm trying to figure out why the prettiest girl in the office is mad at me", he retorts, not bothering to lower his voice.

"Shh", I reprimand him, and my anger builds slightly. "Did ya think I like watching Cathy rubbing her boobs all over you while you just stood there and let her do it?", I blurt out not quite so quietly myself.

Kendall's mouth gapes open and he's about say something when Mr. Wallace comes whistling out into the lobby. "Lunchtime", he raises his eyebrows and proceeds to walk out the door. A quick peek of the clock on the corner of my computer screen confirms that it is indeed noon, lunchtime.

"Have a good one", I call out to him and do all the preparations I need to get myself out of here for the lunch hour. Once everything's off, I take my badge to the time clock and clock out, then grab my coat and put it on, and walk out the door. I notice footsteps behind me and I turn my head to see Kendall. "What, are you stalking me now?", I yell at him and keep walking, the sound of my heels reverberating on the sidewalk.

"Call it what you want but I want to talk to you. Look, I'm sorry that Cathy came running into my office unannounced and hugged me, but I can't control what she does."

I stop walking and let the words sink in. Kendall uses this opportunity to come right next to me. "I just didn't know what to do. Was I supposed to push her away", he says and I move my head to face him. I look at his expression and know he means what he says.

To be completely honest, I'm feeling pretty insecure because I'm not the skinniest girl in the world, but my Grammy always assured me that men like women with curves. She said men like meat, only dogs like bones. I wouldn't call myself fat, but compared to Cathy I feel plump because she's so tall and trim; and let me assure you that when God made me, he didn't slack in the curves department. I had always been so sure of myself back home down south, but up here the majority of women are extremely lean and look like fashion models.

I think about what Kendall says, and it does make sense. It's not like he was hugging her back or even touching her. It all came from her and maybe he just froze up. I clear my throat and take a step closer to the handsome blonde man. "I'm sorry", I tell him and place my hand on his arm. "I guess I just overreacted".

Kendall smiles. "You're really cute when you're jealous", he remarks.

I scoff and cross my arms over my chest. "I am-was not jealous", I correct myself and inform him.

"So it's okay if the other women in the firm touch me and flirt, because it doesn't bother you right?", he asks, his green orbs shining mischieviously.

Just the thought of seeing another one of the women flirting with Kendall or touching him makes me want to claw their eyeballs out, and I'm not opposed to admitting defeat. "Okay so I'm jealous".

Kendall smirks and cracks up while clapping his hands. "I knew it! And like I said, you are really freakin' sexy when you-"

"Shut up", I smack his chest. "I'm going to Roxy's Deli just down the street if you'd like to join me."

Kendall looks back and forth at the hundreds of people crawling around the sidewalk. "What I'd really like is to kiss you right now, but Lenny's over there", he points his index finger to a vendor handing our co-worker four foil wrapped hot dogs and continues, "and he or someone else might see. But I guess lunch with my almost girlfriend won't be so bad in place of that."

...

It's Friday now and nothing can bring me down. My grandparents fly in Sunday evening for their first Christmas outside of Alabama and I'm stoked. The week at work has gone pretty well, with a fun Christmas party at lunch today where earlier in the week we picked a name for 'Secret Santa' and exchanged gifts and had a celebration. It was nothing fancy, but it was fun and of course the yearly holiday bonus made everyone's spirits a big brighter.

I'm still peeved with Cathy, who's work attire seemed to be evershrinking all week long, and today she's scantily dressed in a red minidress that is all but painted on her. Her matching stilettos are sky high and if I wasn't scared that the karma bus would hit me, I'd hope that she loses her balance or trips and breaks her ankle. She's been irking me all week, everytime I turn around she's walking in or out of Kendall's office, and even the past four days at lunch she's stuck up his ass, crowding him in the breakroom. Whenever I feel myself getting worked up, I just close my eyes and count to ten, and think of the compliments Kendall always gives me, and remember that he called me his almost girlfriend.

I just return from the ladies room when the phone on my desk is ringing. "Schmidt, Wallace, and Robbins law offices, how can I help you?"

"Delia, it's Mr. Schmidt", a male voice comes from the other end.

"Oh hi, Danny. How are you?"

"I've been better, but I've been worse. I'm still alive so that counts for something."

"It sure does", I tell him, but wonder why he's calling me.

As if he reads me mind, he goes on. "Delia, could you do me a favor? I've been calling Kendall's office for the past twenty minutes but he's not answering the phone. Do you think you can go tell him to call me, there's a bit of an emergency going on and it's imperative that he calls as soon as possible."

"Yeah, sure Mr. Schmidt. Is everything okay?"

"Mostly. We just had a bit of a mix-up with family members arriving for the holidays."

"Oh sure, I'll let him know. I'm glad everything's okay. You have a Merry Christmas, Danny."

"You, too. And thank you Delia. Oh wait, I'm not at home, could you take this number down to give Kendall to call me back?"

"I'm ready when you are", I answer. I write the number down on the stack of post it's with a message that reads _Call_ _your dad ASAP, _tell Mr. Schmidt goodbye, then hang up and dial his office. Just as Mr. Schmidt has said, it just rings constantly. I pull the top post-it from the pad and head off to give Kendall the message.

I hear him talking and assume that he must be on for a very important phone call, so I edge the door openly slowly as not to disturb him, and I'm in for a bit of a surprise. My eyes roam over a tattoo on Kendall's right bicep and his naked, broad chest. He's only wearing a pair of pants but Cathy is holding a white shirt for Kendall to slip his arms into, and she comes around to the front of him to button it up, eying him the whole while she buttons it up. Her hair is all mussed up and she speaks. "That was pretty fun and adventurous", she winks at him and is all smiles.

"Yeah", Kendall agrees to whatever the bitch is talking about. "That was my first time in an office." Hearing these words puts the worst thoughts possible thoughts in my head and my heart sinks right down to my knees. I close the door silently not to alert them that I had seen what was going on, but I stick the post-it to the door and head off to Mr. Robbins' office where I tell him I'm not feeling too well, and I ask if I can leave. It's not that I'm lying; my stomach is tied in knots and I feel like I'm going to toss my cookies all over the floor. He lets me go and wishes me a Merry Christmas, and I almost feel bad, but it's only an hour until the firm closes down for a week, so I don't feel so guilty.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N Woo-Hoo, only six days until Christmas! I want to thank all of you lovely reviewers, I love you all! SHOUT OUTS ****SuperSillyStories****- Umm...maybe?! Hehe I'm glad you liked that chapter :) ****KtotheH****- I like your way of thinking, and hey no worries, I do really well under pressure ;) ****Roseamber123****- Bahaha your review made me laugh so hard. I'm glad I could provide an addiction for you :) ****rwjj28****- Yeah, I'm in denial, too and I despise Cathy every bit as much as you do! :) ****DeniseDEMD****- Nobody likes when Kendall is a dirtbag, but yeah...I'm glad you liked the first part of the chapter :) ****Logan's Honey Pie****- yeah poor Delia :) ****FangedCutie****- If I answered your question, I would ruin the story, therefore I shall stay silent. Btw, thanks for all of your wonderful reviews on all of my stories, and don't worry about talking about James, you're happy and you love him. Love makes the world go 'round so gush all you want...just please don't tell me that you guys actually sit and read books to eachother like in ASLTW cuz if so, i am WAY jelly! But I'm glad things with you and your James are good, and in case we don't get to talk, have a Merry Christmas! *hug* :) ****paumichyy****- yeah poor Delia :) ****Ileana****- Yeah Cathy is not a nice person. Sorry that you are sad, but it's just a story :)**

I close the door behind me when I get home and set the bottle of wine down that I just stopped and got onto the counter before shrugging my coat off. It's cold as balls today and I really hate wearing the big coat while I'm driving, it just irritates me. Once that's off, I carry the bottle to the kitchen, pull the corkscrew from it's place in the drawer, and pour me a glass of the red wine. I take a little sip before running to my bedroom to change into a pair of sweats and a tank top. I turn on Christmas music and drag the bags of gifts out I bought for the kids at the hospital a few days ago. They have each become dear to my heart already and I couldn't help but go to the toystore and purchase items sure to put a smile on their lovely faces. I leave my phone in the bedroom on silent to avoid any interruptions and get down to business. I'm bummed about Kendall, but refuse to feel sorry for myself. I am in good health and have much to be grateful for; plus Grammy and Grampy are coming in two days and I'm beyond excited. It takes quite a bit of time to wrap the twelve presents, but I don't mind. When I'm done, I order Chinese for dinner and watch a movie on Lifetime before taking a nice, relaxing bubble bath and going to bed.

Saturday morning, I stumble to the kitchen and make coffee, and before I can even decide what to have for breakfast, Lisa's blowing up my phone with texts, along with Logan. To sum it up, they both want me to come hang today and since I have no plans, I happily oblige. After two cups of coffee, a bagel, and a shower, I head to Lisa's apartment where Logan hugs me as if he hasn't seen me in like two years. "Save me", he cries out dramatically and points over to the chair where Lisa is sitting on James's lap and the two people are playing tonsil hockey.

I laugh and clear my throat, ruining their moment. "Oh hey, I didn't hear you come in", Lisa jumps off of James and comes to me.

"I can see why", I retort sarcastically.

"So how's Kendall?", she asks me.

"Oh, that's a long story mama", I tell her and she hollers to Logan and James to play some games on the PS3 or something while we indulge in some girl talk.

"Well what happened?", Lisa leads me to her kitchen and we sit down at the table. I go on to tell her everything, starting with Monday and her eyes go wide when I tell her what I saw yesterday afternoon. "Bummer", she remarks. "That Cathy is a dirty whore. If you want me to, I'll get her back for you. I can put super-glue on the toilet seat at work, or put eyedrops into her drink. That's supposed to give you chronic diahrrea, or so I hear." Lisa's eyes are gleaming and I can tell she's still holding a grudge from last year when Cathy slept with her boyfriend. "Oooh, or I can slash her tires in the parking lot and write 'Whore' on her windshield with red paint!" Lisa laughs maniacally. "I'd love to see the look on that bitch's face if I did it."

"Ahh, it is what it is", I pat my friend's hand to calm her down, which seems to do the trick.

But Lisa's not done giving me her opinion just yet. "See, that's the bad thing about good looking guys, you can't trust them; they have big egos. Especially the ones with money, they think they can buy you for a price, and I don't know if they've heard Beyonce's songs, but I'm irreplacable, honey. You gotta admit I'm quite a catch." Lisa waves her hand up and down her face and I just bite my lip to keep from laughing. "I mean, I'm already halfway in love with James and it's only been two weeks, but he's in the military, and is gonna be away for a long time. With his charming self, he could get a new girl anytime he wanted to", her face turns to the two guys in the living room and she leans closer to me and lowers her voice. "If something happens, I'm done. I will find me a butt ugly guy and then I won't have to worry about anything."

"Lisa!", I exclaim and swat at her arm playfully, but with a smile on my face. "You are bad."

"Call it what you want Dee-Dee but it's the truth. An ugly guy don't have many choices so he'll stick with what he's got."

I just shake my head and start laughing. "Anyway, enough talk about men. What are you doing for Christmas?", I ask her, glad to be in her company today to keep my mind somewhat off of Kendall.

"Gonna spend the morning with James, then we're going to my ma's for dinner. You?"

"My grammy and grampy are flying in tomorrow night and staying for the week. I hope you'll get to meet them."

"Sounds good. I'm sure I'll get a chance." We go on talking about this and that, and everything else until she and James somehow disappear, and the next thing I hear is moans coming from her bedroom.

"Oh gosh, I am so outta here", I tell Logan. As I'm putting my coat on, he asks me to hit the mall with him and help him pick out a gift for Krista, the girl he's talking to back in hometown in Texas. He won't see her for Christmas, but they will be meeting up at a New Year's Eve party and he doesn't want to go empty handed. I agree to go with him, it's not like I have anything better to do anyway. After a fun, comedic, eventful day at the mall with an ornery Logan who makes sure to keep a smile on my face, we go back to Lisa's and have a little party, if you will. All four of us have some drinks and play games, and I end up staying over.

Sunday morning comes and I go home to shower and get ready to go to the hospital. I drive there nervously, knowing that I'm going to see Kendall although I really don't want to. But the reward of seeing all the kids open the gifts I got for them outweighs the cons, so I give myself a pep talk as I park my car and take out two bag fulls of wrapped presents. It's not all, but I'll have to make a second trip back out to the car. Luckily when I'm halfway through the parking lot, Carlos catches up with me and takes the bag, allowing me to run back and get the few remaining gifts at my car.

When I get into the lobby, Kendall looks surprised to see me there. "Hey", he rushes towards me. "I've been calling you and even came by your apartment last night but you weren't home." Yeah I've gotten countless texts and voice messages from Kendall but I delete them without even bothering to read or listen to them.

"I got 'em", I shrug a shoulder as if I don't care.

Kendall looks taken aback. "I don't understand..."

"Well here's a message for you. I saw Cathy putting your shirt back on you in your office on friday and heard about the 'fun' you had together. But anyway, I didn't come here to argue with you or anything. I came here to visit with the children." With that, I walk off to the elevators. I hear Carlos whispering something to him but can't make out what he's saying.

I manage to keep a distance from Kendall while being up on the third floor, and avoid any situations of us being close together. It's easy for me to relax though because I enjoy very much spending time with these kids, and they are all so thankful for the gifts. I end up leaving an hour earlier than when they get called for dinner because I have to head to the airport to pick up my grandparents. With numerous hugs and kisses, and many wishes for a Merry Christmas, I'm on my way.

As soon I get settled into my car for the long drive to JFK International, my phone rings. I pull it from it's resting place in the cupholder and answer it. It's Grammy, saying that something is wrong and that the airport doesn't her and grampy's tickets. Figuring it's some kind of mix-up, I hang up with her and call the airport. I made my way through management, who informed me that they were unable to charge the tickets to my credit card. I'm in despair and rest my forehead on the steering wheel while I frantically search my brain for what to do next. I decide to call the credit card company for an explanation, but of course today is Sunday, and tomorrow and Tuesday are holidays, so I won't be able to speak to someone until Wednesday at the earliest. Not ready to give up, I let out a scream of frustration, almost blowing out my own eardrums, but getting a new idea as well. I race home and dig through the pile of unopened mail I'd been too busy or lazy to open and find the new credit card that was sent to me after the other one was cancelled, and activate it before calling the airport back. I beg and plead with the lady on the phone, but she assures me that there are absolutely no flights available for my grandparents to hop on. Feeling miserable, I call Grammy and tell her what happened, then tell her that as soon as I wake up tomorrow morning, I will pack my car and drive to Alabama. I've never had a Christmas without Grammy and Grampy, and I'm not about to start now.

When Monday morning rolls around, I wake up in much better spirits, shower, and do everything I need to do to leave, but I'm hit with yet another disappointment. My car won't start. I open the hood and look at all the pieces of the engine, but nothing looks amiss to me. By no means am I a mechanic or anything, but I can't figure out what's wrong. Admitting defeat, I drop the hood heavily, letting it slam closed and go back inside to call my Grammy and deliver the bad news. I can't expect them to drive all the way here, because neither one of them has the best eyesight and I don't think it's safe for them to travel on their own.

I spend the day curled up on the couch gorging on junk food and watching Christmas movies. It's dark outside now and all I want to do is sleep to escape this shitty day when somebody comes knocking on the door. I get up and look out the peephole, seeing it's Kendall and I just go right back and plop down onto the soft cushions of my comfortable couch. "I know you're in there Delia", his voice comes from the other side of the door. "I can hear your t.v."

"Congratulations, you have good hearing Kendall Knight", I retort. "But I have no wish to see you, so please just leave."

Kendall raises his voice. "Won't you even give me a chance to explain myself?"

I feel my anger bubbling up. "NO!", I shout. "I saw all I needed to on Friday. Leave me alone!"

I hear him sigh really loudly. "I have a gift for you", he says a bit more calm.

"I don't want it, but hey maybe Cathy will", I can't keep the irritation out of my voice.

"Don't be like this, Delia. Tomorrow is Christmas." This does nothing to ease my mood.

"Yeah and I'll still be mad tomorrow and the day after tomorrow, and then the day after that. I'm trying to watch a movie if you don't mind", I shout and with that I turn the volume higher up on the t.v. I can hear Kendall yelling but can't make out what he's saying, nor do I care. I just the turn the t.v. up even more, drowning him out. I figure that sooner or later one of my neighbors will get tired of hearing him out there and call security to get him to leave. _I never should have came here. I just don't belong_, I think to myself as I cram a chocolate covered pretzel into my mouth.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N Thank you to all of my wonderful reviewers, you rock my socks! Ok, I'll be keeping this short since I have another message to add. SHOUT OUTS ****KtotheH****- I agree, I couldn't imagine spending the holidays alone. And I also agree about what you said about Kendall :) ****Logan's Honey Pie****- Yeah, Delia definitely has some rough times. I'm curious as to what your idea was :) ****SuperSillyStories****- What can I say, I absolutely adore Lisa myself...I mean we all have THAT friend who tells it like it is and just yeah...she is quite a character, I love writing her! Yeah, poor Delia, and I agree Kendall needs to get his shit together! :) ****rwjj28****- I'm with you, I need an explanation about this business with Cathy! :) ****Roseamber123****- Vengeance works there! I think it's the same thing as revenge right? Ahhh, who cares! I adore your nospacerage, I can totally feel your pain! :) ****DeniseDEMD****- Mmm, I am definitely a big fan of chocolate covered pretzels myself :D Your review so cracked me up, I don't even know what to say, I love it! :) ****briannamaslover****- Yay, I'm glad you love this story! Yeah I think we're all upset with Kendall right now, but maybe he had a valid excuse...hehe :)**

*****SPECIAL*** Okay, so I haven't done this before but I thought I'd give it a try. ****SuperSillyStories**** on here is my absolute favorite author on ff, and she just writes the best stories. It just seems like no matter how many shout outs I give her, either people aren't reading her stories ( a total loss, trust me) or they're not leaving reviews, and it makes me really sad because she deserves a lot of them! So, I have this contest type idea thingie hehe...If you read any of her stories and leave her a review, I will put your name into a drawing for me to write you your own New Year's Eve Story (a one-shot) with which ever BTR guy you want, and you get to choose what kind of story it is. And I WILL put your name in multiple times if you leave multiple reviews...so the more you review her super awesome stories, the more chances you'll have! So starting from today, Thursday, and ending Monday, Christmas Eve read her stories and leave her some reviews! And if you do, PM me and let me know please. Also I will be checking to make sure you really did. I will PM the winner on Tuesday or Wednesday (depending on how busy I get) and get all your info to write your story and post it on New Year's Eve...also in advance, thank you so much for the ones of you who actually do this. I'm telling you now though, once you start reading her stuff you won't be ablee to stop! Ready...set...GO!**

The doorbell ringing wakes me from a deep sleep on Tuesday morning, and I toss my bathrobe on over my shorts and tank before heading to the door. As I pass through the living room, I spy the packages sitting under the still plugged in from last night Christmas tree and remember that it's Christmas. I groan before peeking out the peephole, noticing a woman standing on the other side. She looks pretty harmless and vaguely familiar, although I can't put my finger on it. I undo the chain and unlock the deadbolt before opening the door. "Good morning. Can I help you?", I greet the tall lady.

"Hi Delia. I'm Mrs. Schmidt, Kendall's mom and Daniel's wife."

I'm stunned to say the least, as well as curious as to why she's at my door on this holiday morning instead of at home. I rub my eyes and mumble, "Hi."

"Look", she folds her hands together in front of her and continues. "I know you don't know me, and that you and my son are having issues or what have you, but I also am aware that you're alone for the holiday today and we would like to invite you over."

Umm, wow. I let out a breath. "That's very kind of you, but I think I'll just stay here or go over to my friend's parent's", I answer. It's very kind, but I wanna be alone with my misery.

A very pretty Mrs. Schmidt smiles, revealing the same set of dimples that reside in her son's cheeks. "I'm under strict orders not to take no for an answer."

"Uhhh", I utter, not sure what I should say.

"My husband was going to come over here and get you himself, but I talked him out of it, you know with his recent surgery and everything."

"Hmm", I state.

"Please, just come for a little while. I'll wait for you to get a shower. Like I said, I'm not allowed to go back alone and I really have a lot to do today with it being Christmas", I watch her eyes skim over the living room and I cringe. I hadn't cleaned up before I went to sleep last night and I know my coffeetable is littered with junk food bags and containers, and soda cans; all unhealthy fattening foods that I had consumed while having my pity party.

How am I supposed to turn this sweet lady down? "Okay, fine", I huff, letting her know I'm not exactly thrilled, but I do it because I don't want to be responsible for her not cooking dinner for her family or whatever else she has to do. She grins cheerfully and comes inside like she's been here a thousand times before and sits down on the recliner.

...

A little more than an hour later, I awkwardly walk up the driveway beside Mrs. Schmidt, who has informed me to call her Jennifer, to the Schmidt Residence; which is a huge two story brick house in a nice neighborhood. I guess I should be thankful for their hospitality, but it just seems pretty odd to me. Oh well, I figure it can't hurt to sit around for an hour or so, besides I do miss Mr. Schmidt at work and I would like to see how he's doing for myself.

Once we reach the door, Mrs. Schmidt opens it and I follow her inside. Daniel is sitting up on the recliner, looking as good as usual, and Kendall...well he looks divine dressed in a pair of skinny jeans and a green sweater. His eyes stay to the floor and I feel like I'm imposing, and want to turn around and walk right back out the door. It's his house and his family, I should not be here making him feel uncomfortable.

"Merry Christmas, Delia", Daniel greets me with a vibrant smile.

"Merry Christmas, Mr. Schmidt", I respond.

"Hi", I hear from Kendall's direction and I face him. I can tell by the look in his eyes that he's happy to see me, but he's adamant about my reaction.

Well it is Christmas, a time to be civil, so I softly reply, "Hello, Kendall".

Jennifer motions for me to take my coat off, which I do and she proceeds to hang it up in the closet next to the doorway. "Come on, honey", she takes my hand and starts dragging me into the kitchen. "I know you haven't eaten breakfast yet and you must be hungry."

"I'm actually not", I try to tell her but she won't listen. "Nonsense Delia", she waves her hand. "You'll eat to put something in your belly and you'll have some hot cocoa."

I get hit with a wave of nostalgia as a heavenly scent wafts up to my nose. It smells just like my grammy's home-made hot cocoa that could rival anyone in the world's. I push down the feeling of sadness and figure the sooner I comply, the sooner I can leave so I stay silent as she takes me into the kitchen. Standing at the stove stirring a pot of something is someone who looks an awful lot like my grandmother. She turns around and I realize it is my Grammy!

I stand there frozen, and gasp. "Don't just stand there, Delia. Come give your grampy a hug", the familiar male voice says, where there's a figure sitting at the table. I turn my head and see my grampy sitting there. "Oh my gosh", I shriek, totally surprised, and when he waves his hand for me to come over, I do. I fling myself into my grandfather's arms and give him the biggest hug, then scurry over to my grandmother with tears in my eyes. We have an extra long, extra tight hug until she pulls away.

Still in shock, I look back and forth between my two favorite people in the world, then at Mrs. Schmidt who is standing in the entryway. "Oh my...how...", I stutter around trying to get my mouth to form the words my brain is trying to figure out. "How-how did you know? Thank you so much!" I run over to Jennifer and give her a hug. She hugs me and takes a step back.

"It's all Kendall's doing. You can thank him later", she winks and then turns to walk away. "Take some time to catch up with your grandparents, then come back and join us in the living room."

I nod and start talking with them, asking how things are and how my old friends are back at home. We don't want to be rude, so we chat for a few minutes, and then go back to the living room. Everyone kind of banters back and forth, getting along and talking about past Christmases and reminiscing, except for Kendall and I; we both remain pretty quiet and it's obvious that there is some kind of tension between us.

Mrs. Schmidt and my grammy head into the kitchen after some time to do some cooking, it's been made clear to us that we will be eating here, and Grammy and Grampy seem to have no problem with that, so why should I? I'm ecstatic, I was so depressed yesterday thinking that this would be my first Christmas spent without my grandparents, but I turned out to be wrong.

A bit later, Mr. Schmidt and my grandfather joins him in his library for a drink, leaving Kendall and I to myself. A few moments of silence pass, and I decide to speak up. "What you did, bringing my grandparents here is just amazing. I don't know how I could ever thank you."

Kendall sits up and rests his elbows on his knees. "I came by Sunday night and you were home when you were supposed to be at the airport, so I figured something was amiss. I figured it out and I made a few phone calls, contacted your grandparents, and brought them here via private jet of one of my personal friends." Kendall says all of this as if it's no big deal, but honestly I'm floored.

"You didn't have to. I mean, you didn't have to go through all this trouble after I treated you like...crap". I wanna say shit but I tone it down in case anyone is eavesdropping.

"I know how much it meant to you, how much you were looking forward to seeing them. I had to do something for you."

"But I didn't treat you so kindly. After I found out what you and Cathy did, it bothered me. A lot.", I decide to put all my cards out on the table.

Kendall looks at me puzzled. "What did Cathy and I do?"

"You slept together in your- well your dad's office. I mean I get it, she's hot and skinny and-"

"What?!", Kendall looks at me as if I have two heads. "I never slept with her!"

"Then why was she putting your shirt back on?"

He's quiet for all of a few seconds before his lips turn up at the edges. "Oh that", he chuckles. "No, you saw wrong. I actually attempted to make coffee again", he holds a hand out in protest, "Even though you told me not to do it by myself ever again. And well I don't know what happened, maybe the darn machine doesn't like me, but it started spewing coffee out all over the office. Cathy had stopped by to drop some papers off to me and helped me clean it up. And it was actually one of my dad's extra shirts that he has in the office in case a business meeting comes up unexpectedly or something."

I sit here dumbfounded, his excuse does sound legit. "That idea had never occurred to me, I just assumed the worst right away", I confess, rather ashamed. I get up and go across the room to sit next to the blonde. "I'm really sorry. So, so, so, so, sorry, Kendall. I just don't even know what has gotten into me lately."

"What do you mean?", he asks.

I'm reluctant to tell him, but honesty is the best policy. "I thought I was adapting pretty well here but I'm not. I feel like the new girl in high school. I just don't feel like I belong here in New York, Kendall. I don't look like everybody else, I don't talk like them, or walk like them-"

"Hey", Kendall's voice is stern as he cuts me off. "Don't talk like that. You do fit in...you fit right into my heart and you definitely fit perfectly in my arms."

I'm not yet done pleading my case. "Yeah, but I mean wouldn't you rather date someone like Cathy who has mile long legs or...or one of the model-esque girls who would look perfect on a runway?" Now that I've started, I don't seem to be able to stop. "Why me Kendall, I'm not anything special?

"You're wrong about that. You are more than special. Why not Cathy or someone else? That's too simple. Because they don't have your eyes, your smile, your sense of humor, your attitude, your southern hospitality, and surely not that heart of gold sitting in the left side of your chest, Delia."

I'm just baffled and stare at Kendall in awe. "You like those things about me?"

Before he gets a chance to answer, we are interrupted by Mrs. Schmidt calling us for dinner. Kendall yells back that we're coming, and focuses his attention back to me.

"Yes, very much and it would really hurt me if you moved back to Alabama without giving us a chance".

My heart swells in my chest, but my brain protests. "Hmm. I'll think about it", I answer Kendall honestly.

"Do me a favor and think really good, okay?" The expression on his face couldn't be any more serious.

I nod and we smile at eachother, glad to have cleared the air, then he takes my hand and leads me to the dining room. Just as I'm about to step inside, my Grammy throws her arm out and raises her voice. "Stop."

"What is something wrong?, I look around both sides of me and then behind, almost panicking.

"No", my Grampy responds with a smile and nudges Grammy.

I look at Kendall confused, to see that he's grinning as well. I raise an eyebrow in question, and he points his finger up to the ceiling, where a bough of mistletoe is hanging down. We're supposed to kiss. "But we can't, we work together", I say nervously, looking everywhere but at Mr. Schmidt's face.

"Nonsense Delia. It's a tradition that's as old as time", Mr. Schmidt comes over and puts a hand on my shoulder. "You have to honor it."

"Umm okay", I feel shy and a blush creeps up my cheeks all of a sudden at standing here having a personal moment in front of Kendall's family and my grandparents, and my boss.

"Besides, what happens at The Schmidt's, stays at The Schmidt's", Danny winks at me then walks away.

I giggle, and turn to Kendall, who pulls me in by my waist. "Merry Christmas", he whispers before lowering his lips to mine.

**Yup, that's the end of the story. I will be writing an epilogue though, and hopefully posting it tomorrow, as with holidays so close by, I will be busy. But I hope you all enjoyed the story! **


	12. Chapter 12

So this isn't really a chapter, it's just an author's note...I have decided to write a sequel instead of an epilogue because Kendall and Delia are just (maybe) getting started and I just wanted it to be done by Christmas, which it is finished, but I can't let it end like that, there's way too much more I could do with it. I know I said that for my other Christmas story, Home For The Holidays, but I came up with a super awesome epi for that and yeah, sorry for confusing anyone or anything. All I ask is for your patience, I don't know what it'll be called yet or when I'll write the first ch (asap, rest assured) but this is a holiday weekend and I shall be busy. But thank you!

Also, to you hall monitors here on fanfiction, I am very aware that this is not a chapter, a story, or anything and I'm sure you will remove it, but do as you wish. Just please don't post a lame review about it cause that's just really annoying and a waste of time...actually if you do I'll most likely get a good laugh out of it, so once again, do as you wish :) HAPPY HOLIDAYS TO EVERYONE!


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